Therapeutic and prophylactic vaccine for the treatment and prevention of papillomavirus infection

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide compositions including a complexes of papillomavirus capsid polypeptide L2 and polypeptide including an immunotherapeutic epitope, and GST fusions thereof. Other embodiments also provide complexes comprising chimeras of papillomavirus L2 polypeptides non-covalently associated with papillomavirus L1 polypeptides, and GST fusions thereof. These compositions may be used to elicit immune responses in a patient to papillomavirus. Therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines for the prevention and treatment of viral infection, especially papillomavirus infection and cervical cancers and warts associated therewith, made from compositions of this invention, are also disclosed. Nucleic acids and expression vectors coding for compositions are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 121 as a divisionalapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/541,895, filed Feb.16, 2006 entitled, “Therapeutic and Prophylactic Vaccine for theTreatment and Prevention of Papillomavirus Infection,” now Issued U.S.Pat. No. 7,763,259, issued on Jul. 27, 2010, which claims the benefit ofPCT/US04/00196, filed Jan. 6, 2004, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/439,224 filed on Jan. 10, 2003, allof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention provides novel vaccines and diagnostic agents forthe prevention, treatment and/or diagnosis of viral infection,especially papillomavirus infection and cervical cancers associatedtherewith. More specifically, the present invention provides anefficient method for incorporating immunotherapeutic proteins intocapsomeres, which may then be used to elicit immune responses.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Papillomaviruses infect a wide variety of different species of animalsincluding humans. Infection is typically characterized by the inductionof benign epithelial and fibro-epithelial tumors, or warts at the siteof infection. Each species of vertebrate is infected by aspecies-specific set of papillomavirus, itself comprising severaldifferent papillomavirus types. For example, more than sixty differenthuman papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes have been isolated.Papillomaviruses are highly species-specific infective agents. Forexample, canine and rabbit papillomaviruses cannot induce papillomas inheterologous species such as humans. Neutralizing immunity to infectionagainst one papillomavirus type generally does not confer immunityagainst another type, even when the types infect a homologous species.

In humans, papillomaviruses cause genital warts, a prevalentsexually-transmitted disease. HPV types 6 and 11 are most commonlyassociated with benign genital warts condylomata acuminata. Genitalwarts are very common, and subclinical or inapparent HPV infection iseven more common than clinical infection. While most HPV-induced lesionsare benign, lesions arising from certain papillomavirus types e.g.,HPV-16 and HPV-18, can undergo malignant progression. Moreover,infection by one of the malignancy-associated papillomavirus types isconsidered to be a significant risk factor in the development ofcervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Ofthe HPV genotypes involved in cervical cancer, HPV-16 is the mostcommon, being found in about 50% of cervical cancers. The prevalence ofHPV-18 ranges from approximately 8-31% depending on the geographicallocation, and in most areas worldwide, HPV-45 is the third mostfrequent, oncogenic HPV type (Bosch, F. X., et al., J Natl. CancerInst., 87:796-802 (1995).

In view of the significant health risks posed by papillomavirusinfection generally, and human papillomavirus infection in particular,various groups have reported the development of recombinantpapillomavirus antigens and their use as diagnostic agents and asprophylactic vaccines. In general, such research has been focused towardproducing prophylactic vaccines containing the major capsid protein (L1)alone or in combination with the minor capsid protein (L2).

Yuan, et al., J Virology, 75:7848-53 (2001), describe the preparation ofcanine oral papillomavirus capsid L1 protein-glutathione-S-transferasefusion proteins and their expression in E. coli. This publicationdemonstrates the efficacy of non-VLP vaccines in the dog canine oralpapillomavirus (COPV) model. COPV is the model previously used tovalidate VLP vaccines. Here, GST-L1 fusions were expressed in E. coli,and, although in capsomere form, had not been assembled into VLPs beforeuse as a vaccine. The paper demonstrated that GST-L1 fusions retainedtheir native conformations and further, completely protected dogs fromviral infection with COPV. The authors conclude that VLPs are notnecessary for efficacy of capsid protein L1 vaccines againstpapillomavirus, and that GST fusion proteins, which may be purifiedefficiently and economically in bacteria, are effective to protect dogsagainst COPV.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,471, issued Dec. 26, 2000 to Robert L. Garcea, etal., also discloses non-VLP vaccines composed of capsomeres of HPV L1with carboxy-terminal deletions and mutations of specific cysteineresidues which inhibit the formation of VLPs. These capsomeres wereproduced in bacterial expression systems, and they were efficacious ineliciting HPV neutralizing antibodies in rabbits. This reference isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

PCT/US01/18702 entitled “Stable (Fixed) Forms Of Viral Capsid Proteins,And Viral Capsid Protein Fusions, Preferably Papillomavirus L1 Proteins,And Uses Thereof,” describes papillomavirus capsid protein L1 or L2proteins expressed as glutathione-S-transferase fusion proteins inbacteria. These fusions expressed in E. coli retain L1 nativeconformation and immunogenic activity as measured by assays withneutralizing antibodies. This reference is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Prophylactic vaccines currently in clinical trials are based upon VLPs(virus like particles) assembled from HPV16 L1. See, Cain, J. M., etal., Science, 288:1753-55 (2000); Gissmann, L., et al., Intervirology,44:167-75 (2001); Harro, et al., J. Natl Cancer Inst, 93:284-292 (2001);Schiller, J. T., et al., J Clin Virol, 19:67-74 (2000); and Schiller, J.T., et al., Expert Opin Biol Ther, 1:571-81. However, these types ofvaccines are relatively expensive to produce in that they requireeukaryotic expression systems or complex purification, and are lessstable than capsomere preparations.

Additionally, VLP vaccines have the shortcoming that they may notprovide cross protection against other papillomavirus serotypes, asneutralizing immune responses tend to be predominately type-specific.See Christensen, et al., J Gen Virol, 75 (Pt 9):2271-76 (1994);Christensen, et al., Virology, 175:1-9 (1990); Roden, et al., J Virol,70:5875-83 (1996); Roden, et al., J Virol, 70:3298-301 (1996); Rose, etal., J Gen Virol, 75 (Pt 9):2445-49 (1994); and White, et al., J Virol,73:4882-9 (1999).

Papillomavirus capsid protein L2 has been shown to generatecross-neutralizing antisera. See Roden, “Minor capsid protein of humangenital papillomaviruses contains subdominant, cross-neutralizingepitopes,” Virology, 270:254-7 (2000).

A further drawback to approaches that do not incorporate papillomaviruscapsid protein L2 into capsomeres of papillomavirus capsid protein L1 isthat requirements for L1 capsomers to assemble into VLPs are somewhatstrict, i.e. acidic pH, such as pH 5.2, is required for assembly. Thus,if it is desired to produce VLPs, it is desirable to produce capsomeresthat assemble more readily into VLPs, i.e. at more physiological pH.

Currently, one approach to developing a therapeutic vaccine for treatingestablished cervical carcinomas has been to create VLPs usingpapillomavirus capsid protein L1 also containing an immunotherapeuticprotein, typically E7. See Miller, et al., Virology, 234:93-111.However, this approach does not include papillomavirus capsid proteinL2, which can broaden the therapeutic usefulness of such a vaccine.Another drawback to this approach is that smaller amounts ofimmunotherapeutic protein can be incorporated into VLPs using thisapproach, certainly much less than one therapeutic protein percapsomere.

Thus, there remains a need in the art to produce papillomavirus vaccinescontaining both L1 and L2 viral capsid proteins to potentially generatea broader spectrum of protection against different papillomavirusserotypes. Additionally, there remains a need in the art to produce atherapeutic vaccine in order to treat established cervical cancer whichrepresents an improvement over current therapeutic vaccines. Thereremains a need for such compositions to be produced economically,preferably from bacterial expression systems. Further, there is a needin the art to for bacterially produced papillomavirus capsomeres thatassemble into VLPs at physiologic pH.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides chimeric compositions comprising apapillomavirus capsid polypeptide L2 or portions thereof, a polypeptideincluding but not limited to an immunotherapeutic epitope, andglutathione S transferase (GST) fusions thereof. The present inventionalso provides complexes comprising a papillomavirus capsid polypeptideL2 or portions thereof, a polypeptide including but not limited to animmunotherapeutic epitope, and glutathione S transferase (GST) fusionsthereof non-covalently associated with papillomavirus L1 polypeptides.These compositions may be used to elicit immune responses in a patientto papillomavirus. Therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines for theprevention and treatment of viral infection, especially papillomavirusinfection and cervical cancers and warts associated therewith, made fromcompositions of this invention, are also disclosed. Nucleic acids andexpression vectors coding for compositions of this invention are alsodisclosed.

More specifically, the chimeric compositions of the present inventioncomprise a papillomavirus capsid protein L2 polypeptide, which includesa papillomavirus capsid protein L1 binding region, fused with apolypeptide having an immunogenic epitope at the amino or carboxyterminal end, preferably expressed as a GST fusion protein. It isfurther desirable to provide these chimeras from a bacterial expressionsystem for economical production.

The present invention further contemplates providing a complexcontaining chimeric proteins of the present invention non-covalentlyassociated with papillomavirus capsid protein L1 proteins. Thesecomplexes may be provided as capsomeres with a stoichiometry of 1chimeric protein to 5 papillomavirus capsid L1 polypeptides.Alternatively these complexes may provide immunogenic epitopes at astoichiometry of 1 to 5 papillomavirus capsid L1 proteins.

The present invention further discloses VLPs, which are capable offorming at physiological pH, have capsomeres that are capable ofpotentially incorporating seventy two copies of a chimeric protein ofthe present invention.

The present invention further provides capsomere vaccine formulationshaving an intact structural papilloma viral protein L1 expressed as afusion protein with additional amino acid residues from a secondprotein. Preferred capsomeres are made up entirely of L1 fusionproteins, the sequence of L1 is well known in the art and can be foundin U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,368 which is incorporated herein in its entirety.Amino acids of the second protein can be derived from numerous sources(including amino acid residues from the first protein. Preferably, thetwo fusion proteins are linked together by a linker of one or more aminoacids in length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthe specifications, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 shows the amino acid sequence of a DNA encoding a peptide of L2of an HPV 11 L2 papilloma virus (SEQ ID NO: 1).

FIG. 2 shows the amino acid sequence of a DNA encoding a peptide of L2of an HPV 6B L2 papilloma virus (SEQ ID NO:2).

FIG. 3 shows the amino acid sequence of a DNA encoding a peptide of L2of an HPV 16 L2 papilloma virus (SEQ ID NO:3).

FIG. 4 shows the amino acid sequence of a DNA encoding a peptide of L2of an HPV 33 L2 papilloma virus (SEQ ID NO:4).

FIG. 5 is a schematic representing the 44 residues L2 domain requiredfor L1 binding, and highlighting the hydrophobic region betweenconserved prolines.

FIG. 6 demonstrates the generation of cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responseafter immunization with L1-E7.

FIG. 7 graphically demonstrates that L1 capsomeres alone generate a CTLresponse that kills tumors expressing L1 antigen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, the followingdefinitions are provided. Otherwise, all technical terms have theirordinary, art-recognized definitions.

Capsid protein: the structural protein of a virus, e.g., enveloped ornon enveloped, which constitutes the capsid structure. Generally, thereare several capsid proteins which are often described by whether theyare the predominant (major) constituent or lesser (minor) constituent ofcapsid structure.

Major capsid protein or L1 protein: the structural protein ofpapillomavirus (PV) which constitutes the major portion of the PV capsidstructure. This protein has reported application in the preparation ofHPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines and as a diagnostic agent. Minorcapsid protein or L2 protein: the structural protein of papillomavirus(PV) which constitutes the minor portion of the PV capsid structure. Thenucleic acid sequence for this protein is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4(SEQ ID NO. 1, SEQ ID NO. 2, SEQ ID NO. 3, and SEQ ID NO. 4,respectively).

Virus-like particles or VLPs: the capsid-like structures that resultupon expression and assembly of a papillomavirus L1 DNA sequence aloneor in combination with an L2 DNA sequence. VLPs are morphologically andantigenically similar to authentic virions. VLPs may be produced invivo, in suitable host cells or may form spontaneously upon purificationof recombinant L1 and/or L2 proteins. Additionally, they may be producedusing capsid proteins L1 and L2, fragments or mutated forms thereof,e.g., L1 or L2 proteins that have been modified by the addition,substitution or deletion of one or more amino acids. L1 and L2 mutantsthat fall within the scope of the present invention are those that uponexpression present at least one native PV conformational epitope.Methods to assemble VLPs are known in the art.

Correctly-folded L1 or L2 protein: L1 or L2 protein, fragment thereof,or mutated form thereof, (either monomeric, in the form of smalloligomers (dimers-tetramers) or capsomeres), which, upon expression,assumes a conformational structure that presents one or moreconformational HPV L1 or L2 epitopes present on native viral capsids orVLPs and is suitable for assembly into VLPs. In the present invention, acorrectly folded HPV L1 or L2 protein will present one or more HPV L1 orL2 conformational epitopes.

Conformational L1 or L2 HPV epitope: an epitope expressed on the surfaceof correctly-folded L1 or L2 protein which is also expressed by an L1 orL2 protein or fragment, or mutated form thereof, which is also expressedby an L1 or L2 protein of a corresponding wild-type, infectious HPV. Itis well accepted by those skilled in the art that the presentation ofconformational epitopes is essential to the efficacy (both asprophylactic and diagnostic agents) of HPV L1 or L2 protein immunogens.

Conformational Neutralizing L1 or L2 HPV epitope: an epitope expressedon the surface of correctly-folded L1 protein, fragment or mutated formthereof, which is also expressed by an L1 or L2 protein of acorresponding wild-type, infectious HPV, and which elicits neutralizingantibodies. It is well accepted by those skilled in the art that thepresentation of conformational neutralizing epitopes is essential to theefficacy (both as prophylactic and diagnostic agents) of HPV L1 or L2protein immunogens.

Conformational antibody: an antibody that specifically binds an epitopeexpressed as a correctly-folded L1 or L2 protein but not on denatured L1or L2 protein.

Capsomere: this refers to a structure that makes up the larger viralcapsid structure that is generally a polymer of one or more types ofcapsid proteins. In the case of HPV, a native capsomere comprises apentamer of L1 capsid proteins that may be associated with one L2 capsidprotein.

Capsid: this refers to the structural portion of a virus, e.g., HPV,that is comprised of capsomeres. In the case of HPV, the viral capsid iscomprised of 72 capsomeres.

A “chimeric protein” is created when two or more genes that normallycode for two separate proteins recombine, either naturally or as theresult of human intervention, to code for a protein that is acombination of all or part of each of those two proteins.

The present invention provides a chimeric protein comprising apapillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptide having a papillomavirus capsidprotein L1-binding domain and a second polypeptide comprising at leastone immunogenic epitope, wherein the polypeptides are fused at theiramino or carboxy terminal ends. The papillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptidecan include the full-length papillomavirus L2 capsid protein as well astruncated versions of the L2 protein containing an L1 capsid proteinbinding region. Alternatively, the present invention provides a chimericprotein comprising a papillomavirus L1 protein linked by at least oneamino acid to a second polypeptide comprising at least one immunogenicepitope. The papillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptide can include thefull-length papillomavirus L1 capsid protein as well as truncatedversions of the L1 protein.

Preferred vaccine formulations of this type include capsomeres comprisedof truncated L1 with or without L2 viral proteins. Particularlypreferred capsomeres are comprised of truncated L1 proteins. Truncatedproteins contemplated by the invention include those having one or moreamino acid residues deleted from the carboxy terminus of the protein, orone or more amino acid residues deleted from the amino terminus of theprotein, or one or more amino acid residues deleted from an internalregion (i.e., not from either terminus) of the protein. Preferredcapsomere vaccine formulations are comprised of proteins truncated atthe carboxy terminus.

A papillomavirus L1 or L2 protein binding region indicates any sequenceof amino acids or arrangement of amino acids in three dimensions (notnecessarily a linear amino acid sequence) that has the ability tospecifically but non-covalently associate with another sequence of aminoacids or arrangement of amino acids in three dimensions. Specificbinding may include binding that is mediated by ionic interactions,hydrophobic interactions, or any other method of interaction that isstronger than general, i.e. non-specific, protein-protein interactions.Specific binding can also be defined as a protein/protein associationthat survives treatments with such disruptive reagents such as, forexample, moderate levels of salts, weak detergents, and moderate levelsof urea.

In another embodiment, papillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptides of thisinvention may also include polypeptides that are substantially identicalto a portion of L2 containing an L1 binding domain, such as but notlimited to SEQ ID. Nos. 14 shown in FIGS. 1-4. By “substantiallyidentical” it is meant a polypeptide having a sequence that is at least85%, preferably 90%, and more preferably 95% or more identical to thesequence of the reference amino acid and containing a region capable ofbinding to an L1 protein. For polypeptides, the length of the referencepolypeptide sequence will include an L1 binding region and willgenerally be from at least about 7 amino acids to about 455 amino acids.More preferred are lengths below 100 amino acids, and most preferred arelengths of about 44 amino acids. These binding domains are shown in FIG.5 and Table 3, discussed in further detail below. Sequence identity canbe measured using sequence analysis software (e.g., Sequence AnalysisSoftware Package of the Genetics Computer Group, University of WisconsinBiotechnology Center, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, Wis. 53705).

Included in the chimeric proteins of the present invention is a secondpolypeptide that comprises a polypeptide containing at least oneimmunogenic epitope. The polypeptide can include a full-length proteinor any portion thereof that is at least about 5 amino acids in lengthand has a useful function, including, but not limited to, the ability toelicit an immune response, elicit an immunomodulatory effect (e.g. animmunomodulator that stimulates or reduces the immune response), effectenzyme activity, or otherwise effect cell division, differentiation,development and cell death. Preferred polypeptides are viral oncogenicproteins or fragments thereof containing an immunogenic epitope,including but not limited to T cell defined tumor antigens, many ofwhich are described in the art, for example see Van den Eynde, B. J., etal., Current Opinion in Immunology, 9:684-693 (1997), which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Preferred antigensinclude those that are encoded by genes that are activated in a numberof tumors of various histological types. Prototype antigens of this typeare those encoded by the gene P1A in the mouse and by the MAGE genes inhumans. Of these genes, preferred are P1A, MAGE-1, MAGE-3, MAGE-6, BAGE,GAGE-1/2, GAGE-8 to 6, RAGE-1, GnTV, mucin. Other preferred tumorantigens include tumor antigens arising from mutations, and includetumor antigens arising from mutations in mouse genes, such as forexample mutations in connexin-37, ribosomal protein L9, gag IAP, gp70env MuLV, p53, various ras mutations, DEAD box helicase p68, c-akt, andmutations in human genes, such as for example mutations in MUM-1, CDK4,.beta.-catenin, HLA-A2, bct-abl (b3a2), CASP-8, and KIAA0205. Otherpotential epitopes include, but are not limited to, viral proteins,either in their entirety or as fragments, such as, but not limited toE6/E7 proteins of papillomavirus, herpes virus capsid and earlyproteins, and respiratory synctial virus neutralizing epitopes. Ininstances where L1 alone is used the second polypeptide is linked to L1by one or more amino acids.

Preferably, immunogenic epitopes are those that confer protectiveimmunity, allowing a mammal or other animal to resist (delayed onset ofsymptoms or reduced severity of symptoms), as the result of its exposureto the antigen of a pathogen, disease or death that otherwise followscontact with the pathogen. Protective immunity is achieved by one ormore of the following mechanisms: mucosal, humoral, or cellularimmunity. Mucosal immunity is primarily the result of secretory IgA(sIGA) antibodies on mucosal surfaces of the respiratory,gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tracts. The sIGA antibodies aregenerated after a series of events mediated by antigen-processing cells,B and T lymphocytes, that result in sIGA production by B lymphocytes onmucosa-lined tissues of the body. “Humoral immunity” is the result ofIgG antibodies and IgM antibodies in serum. “Cellular immunity” can beachieved through cytotoxic T lymphocytes or through delayed-typehypersensitivity that involves macrophages and T lymphocytes, as well asother mechanisms involving T cells without a requirement for antibodies.The primary result of protective immunity is the destruction of thepathogen or inhibition of its ability to replicate itself.

The present invention also includes a complex comprising the chimericprotein of the present invention further comprising a papillomavirus L1polypeptide, protein or fragment thereof, or substantially identicalprotein or fragments. Papillomavirus L1 polypeptides of the presentinvention include polypeptides that retain their ability to bind topapillomavirus L2 polypeptides of the present invention. The complexesof the present invention include L1 capsid protein fragments that uponexpression present conformational, neutralizing epitopes. Thesefragments can include full length papillomavirus L1 capsid proteins aswell as internal, carboxy- and amino-terminal deletions, and proteinshaving specific cystein mutations that prevent assembly into VLPs. Thedeletion may range in size from 1 to about 100 amino acids, preferably 1to 50 amino acids, and more preferably from about 1 to 25 amino acids.It is essential that the deletion still allow for the expression of acapsid protein, e.g., HPV L1 protein, that when expressed in fused ornon-fused form presents at least one conformational, neutralizingepitope.

Complexes of the present invention will most preferably be in the formof a capsomere. Capsomeres of the present invention will generally havea stoichiometry of about one chimeric protein of the present inventionto about five papillomavirus L1 capsid proteins, although capsomeres ofgreater or lesser stoichiometry are also contemplated.

In another embodiment, the capsomeres of the present invention can beassembled into a VLP. In this embodiment, assembly can be performedusing methods known in the art. The present invention includes methodsto assemble a VLP using capsomeres of the present invention at acidic tophysiological pH. Most preferred are methods to assemble VLPs usingcapsomeres of the present invention at physiologic pH. In the case ofpolypeptide sequences which are less than 100% identical to a referencesequence, the non-identical positions are preferably, but notnecessarily, conservative substitutions for the reference sequence.Conservative substitutions typically include substitutions within thefollowing groups: glycine and alanine; valine, isoleucine, and leucine;aspartic acid and glutamic acid; asparagine and glutamine; serine andthreonine; lysine and arginine; and phenylalanine and tyrosine. Similarminor variations may also include amino acid deletions or insertions, orboth. Guidance in determining which amino acid residues may besubstituted, inserted, or deleted without abolishing biological orimmunological activity may be found using computer programs well knownin the art, for example, DNASTAR software.

Where a particular polypeptide is said to have a specific percentidentity to a reference polypeptide of a defined length, the percentidentity is relative to the reference peptide. Thus, a peptide that is50% identical to a reference polypeptide that is 100 amino acids longcan be a 50 amino acid polypeptide that is completely identical to a 50amino acid long portion of the reference polypeptide. It might also be a100 amino acid long polypeptide which is 50% identical to the referencepolypeptide over its entire length. Of course, many other polypeptideswill meet the same criteria.

In some cases a linker of non-antigenic amino acids may be insertedbetween the first polypeptide and the second polypeptide, to furtherenhance the antigenicity of the chimeric protein or portions thereof orfor any other beneficial effect on the chimeric protein. The processinvolves constructing a DNA plasmid for fusing second polypeptide genesto full length or fragments of the first polypeptide, usingoligonucleotide probes and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodology.

The fusion between the first polypeptide and the second polypeptide tocreate a chimeric protein of the present invention can occur at eitherthe amino- or carboxy-terminus of the second polypeptide. However, it ismost preferable to link the second polypeptide comprising at least oneimmunogenic epitope at the second polypeptide's carboxy-terminus to theamino-terminus of the first polypeptide comprising a papillomavirus L2polypeptide, yielding a chimera comprising the second polypeptide on theamino terminal end of the chimeric protein and the first polypeptidecomprising the L2 polypeptide on the carboxy terminal end of thechimeric protein. The inventors believe, without being bound by theory,that such a fusion, where it involves amino-terminus truncated L2proteins, has a greater ability to retain conformational folding of theL2 polypeptide.

In one aspect, the present invention relates to the expression of aviral capsid protein, and more preferably a papillomavirus L1 or L2capsid protein or fragment, and most preferably a papillomavirus L2capsid protein or fragment thereof as a glutathione-S-transferase (GST)fusion protein. The GST protein may be fused at the amino-terminal orcarboxy-terminal portion of the viral capsid protein or fragmentthereof.

In preferred embodiments, the GST protein is fused to the amino-terminusof an HPV L2 polypeptide of the present invention thus leaving thecarboxy-terminus for appending the additional epitope. However, it ishypothesized that fusion to the carboxy-terminus will also yield capsidproteins capable of binding to papillomavirus L1 proteins of the presentinvention.

Fusion of GST to viral capsid proteins is advantageous in that theexpression product can easily be purified by glutathione sepharosechromatography. Further, if it is desired to remove the GST moiety fromthe chimeric protein or capsomeres of the present invention, methodsknown in the art can be utilized to do so. For example, GST proteins maybe incubated with thrombin, by methods known in the art, to cleave theGST moiety.

Viral proteins of the present invention may be derived from anypapillomaviruses. More preferred are papillomaviruses and even morepreferred are any human papillomavirus. Many HPV L1 and L2 DNAs havebeen reported in the literature and are publicly available. (See, e.g.,Baker, Sequence Analysis of Papillomavirus, Genomes, pp. 321-384; Long,et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,931; Cole, et al., J Mol. Biol., 193:599-608(1987); Danos, et al., EMBO J, 1:231-236 (1982); Cole, et al., J Virol.,38(3):991-995 (1986)). Also, it is well known that HPV L1 and L2 DNAsexhibit significant homology to L1s and L2s of different serotypes ofHPV. Therefore, a desired HPV L1 or L2 DNA can easily be obtained, e.g.by the use of a previously reported HPV L1 or L2 DNA or a fragmentthereof as a hybridization probe or as a primer during polymerizationchain reaction (PCR) amplification. Indeed, numerous HPV L1 and L2 DNAshave been cloned and expressed.

Most preferably, the HPV L1 or L2 DNA in the subject invention will bederived from an HPV which is involved in cancer or condylomataacuminata, e.g., HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-31, HPV-33, HPV-35, HPV-39, HPV-45,HPV-51, HPV-52, and HPV-56 are involved in cancer, and HPV-6, HPV-11,HPV-30, HPV-42, HPV-43, HPV44, HPV-54, HPV-55, and HPV-70, are involvedin warts. However, the subject capsid proteins may be produced using anydesired HPV L1 DNA.

Virus particles can also be isolated for a particular papillomavirustype, the DNA cloned, and the nucleic acid sequences encoding L1 or L2proteins isolated. Methods for isolation of viral particles and cloningof virus DNAs have been reported. (See, e.g., Heilman, et al., JVirology, 36:395-407 (1980); Heaudenon, et al., Nature, 321:246-249(1986); Georges, et al., J Virology, 51:530-538 (1984); Kremsdorf, etal., J Virology, 52:1013-1018 (1984); Clad, et al., J Virology,118:254-259 (1982); DeVilliers, et al., J Virology, 40:932-935 (1981);and European Patent Application 0,133,123.))

Alternatively, the L1 or L2 protein for a particular humanpapillomavirus can be isolated, the amino acid sequence determined andnucleic acid probes constructed based on the predicted DNA sequence.Such probes can be utilized in isolating the L1 gene from a library ofthe papillomavirus DNA. See, e.g., Suggs, et al., PNAS, 78(11):6613-6617(1981) and Young and Davis, PNAS, 80:1194 (1983).

Proteins and capsomeres of the present invention can be produced in avariety of ways, including production and/or recovery of naturalproteins, production and/or recovery of recombinant proteins, and/orchemical synthesis of the proteins. The proteins and polypeptides of thepresent invention will be expressed preferably in a prokaryoticmicrobial host, e.g., bacteria such as E. coli, that can be culturedunder conditions that favor the production of capsid proteins. This willlargely depend upon the selected host system and regulatory sequencescontained in the vector, e.g., whether expression of the capsid proteinrequires induction. Proteins and polypeptides of the present inventionmay also be expressed in any host cell that provides for the expressionof recoverable yields of the polypeptides in appropriate conformation.Suitable host systems for expression of recombinant proteins are wellknown and include, by way of example, bacteria, mammalian cells, yeast,and insect cells. A preferred expression system comprises the E. coliexpression system used in the Examples, as this system provides for highcapsomere yields. However, HPV L1 and L2 proteins, as well as otherviral capsid proteins, can be produced in other systems.

Suitable vectors for cloning and expressing polypeptides of the presentinvention are well known in the art and commercially available. Further,suitable regulatory sequences for achieving cloning and expression,e.g., promoters, polyadenylation sequences, enhancers and selectablemarkers are also well known. The selection of appropriate sequences forobtaining recoverable protein yields is routine to one skilled in theart.

Baculovirus systems offer the advantage that a large percentage of cellscan be induced to express protein due to the use of infection ratherthan transfection techniques. While baculovirus is an insect virus andgrows in insect cells (Sf9), these cells retain many of the eukaryoticmechanisms for processing of proteins including glycosylation andphosphorylation which may be important for generating proteins ofappropriate conformation. Baculovirus vector systems are known in theart. (See, e.g., Summers and Smith, Texas Agricultural ExperimentalBulletin, No. 1555 (1987); Smith, et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 3:2156-2165(1985); Posse, Virus Research, 5:4359 (1986); and Matsuura, J Gen.Virol., 68:1233-1250 (1987.)) Also, it has been reported thatbaculovirus-infected cells express HPV L1 proteins exhibiting theappropriate conformation. However, for the reasons already identified,bacterial expression and, more preferably, expression in E. coli, of aGST-L1 protein fusion is preferred.

For expression in an appropriate expression system, an L1 or L2 nucleicacid encoding a polypeptide of the present invention is operably linkedinto an expression vector and introduced into a host cell to enable theexpression of the L1 protein by that cell. The gene with the appropriateregulatory regions will be provided in the proper orientation andreading frame to allow for expression. Methods for gene construction areknown in the art. (For example, Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual,Sambrook, et al., eds., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Second Edition,Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989) describes general molecular biologytechniques and is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Anothersource are the references cited herein.)

A wide variety of transcriptional and regulatory sequences may beemployed. The signals may be derived from viral sources, where theregulatory signals are associated with a particular gene which has ahigh level of expression. That is, strong promoters, for example, strongbacterial, viral or mammalian promoters maybe utilized. In this manner,the optimum conditions for carrying out the invention include thecloning of the L1 gene into an expression vector that will overexpressconformationally-dependent virus-neutralizing epitopes of the L1 proteinin transfected or infected target cells (E. coli).

The present invention also includes polynucleotides that encode chimericproteins and complexes/capsomeres of the present invention. Accordingly,any nucleic acid sequence, which encodes the amino acid sequence ofchimeric proteins and complexes/capsomeres of the present invention, canbe used to generate recombinant molecules that express chimeric proteinsand complexes/capsomeres of the present invention. It will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that as a result of thedegeneracy of the genetic code, a multitude of nucleotide sequencesencoding chimeric proteins and complexes/capsomeres of the presentinvention, some bearing minimal homology to the nucleotide sequences ofany known and naturally occurring gene, may be produced. Thus, theinvention contemplates each and every possible variation of nucleotidesequence that could be made by selecting combinations based on possiblecodon choices. These combinations are made in accordance with thestandard triplet genetic code as applied to the nucleotide sequence ofnaturally occurring chimeric proteins and complexes/capsomeres of thepresent invention, and all such variations are to be considered as beingspecifically disclosed.

Although nucleotide sequences which encode chimeric proteins andcomplexes/capsomeres of the present invention and its variants arepreferably capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence of thenaturally occurring chimeric proteins and complexes/capsomeres of thepresent invention under appropriately selected conditions of stringency,it may be advantageous to produce nucleotide sequences encoding chimericproteins and complexes/capsomeres of the present invention possessing asubstantially different codon usage. Codons may be selected to increasethe rate at which expression of the peptide occurs in a particularprokaryotic or eukaryotic host in accordance with the frequency withwhich particular codons are utilized by the host. Other reasons forsubstantially altering the nucleotide sequence encoding GRBP and itsderivatives without altering the encoded amino acid sequences includethe production of RNA transcripts having more desirable properties, suchas a greater half-life, than transcripts produced from the naturallyoccurring sequence.

Chimeric proteins and capsomeres of the present invention haveapplication in both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines anddiagnostics. The suitability of the chimeric proteins and capsomeresproduced according to the invention for use as vaccines or as diagnosticagents can be confirmed by reaction with antibodies or monoclonalantibodies which react or recognize conformational epitopes present onthe intact vision and based on their ability to elicit the production ofneutralizing antiserum. Suitable assays for determining whetherneutralizing antibodies are produced are known to those skilled in theart. This is an essential characteristic of HPV capsid proteins or otherviral capsid proteins, which are to be used in HPV or other viralvaccines. In this manner, it can be verified whether the polypeptides ofthe present invention will elicit the production of anti-HPVneutralizing antibodies. Thus, other expression vectors and expressionsystems can be tested for use in the invention.

As discussed, the capsid proteins and stable forms thereof producedaccording to the present invention can be utilized to detect, diagnose,serotype, and treat papillomavirus infection. When used for diagnosis orserotyping, capsid proteins, e.g., polypeptides produced according tothe invention may be labeled using any of a variety of labels andmethods of labeling. Examples of types of labels, which can be used inthe present invention, include, but are not limited to, enzyme labels,radioisotopic labels, non-radioactive isotopic labels, fluorescentlabels, toxin labels, and chemiluminescent labels. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will know of other suitable labels which may beemployed in accordance with the present invention. The binding of theselabels to viral capsid proteins, e.g., in the form of capsomeres, can beaccomplished using standard techniques commonly known to those ofordinary skill in the art. Typical techniques are described by Kennedy,et al., Clin. Chim. Acta, 70:1-31 (1976), and Schurs, et al., Clin.Chim. Acta, 81:140 (1977). Coupling techniques mentioned in the latterare the glutaraldehyde method, the periodate method, the dimaleimidemethod, the m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxy-succinimide ester method, allthese methods incorporated by reference herein.

The detection of the anti-HPV antibodies using the polypeptides of thepresent invention can be improved through the use of carriers.Well-known carriers include glass, polystyrene, polypropylene,polyethylene, dextran, nylon, amylases, natural and modified celluloses,polyacrylamides, agaroses and magnetite. The nature of the carrier canbe either soluble to some extent or insoluble for the purposes of thepresent invention. Those skilled in the art will note many othercarriers suitable for binding proteins, or will be able to ascertain thesame by use of routine experimentation.

The preferred aspect of the present invention, however, involves thedevelopment of viral vaccines, preferably HPV vaccines. The vaccines ofthe invention will contain chimeric proteins and/or capsomeres of thepresent invention in sufficient quantities to induce formation ofneutralizing antibodies in the host contained in a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier.

It should be noted that use of adjuvants or carriers is not precluded bythe present invention. Adjuvants are typically substances that generallyenhance the immune response of a patient to a specific antigen. Suitableantigens include, but are not limited to, other bacterial cell wallcomponents, aluminum based salts, calcium based salts, silica,polynucleotides, toxins, such as cholera toxin, toxoids, such as choleratoxoid, serum proteins, other viral coat proteins, otherbacterial-derived preparations, block copolymer adjuvants, such asHunter's TITERMAX adjuvant (Vaxcel™, Inc., Norcross, Ga.); Ribiadjuvants (available from Ribi ImmunoChem Research, Inc., Hamilton,Mont.) and saponins and their derivatives, such as Quil A (availablefrom Superfos Biosector A/S, Denmark). Carriers are typically compoundsthat increase the half life of a composition in the treated patient.Suitable carriers include, but are not limited to, polymeric controlledrelease formulations, biodegradable implants, liposomes, bacteria,viruses, oils, esters and glycols.

The present invention includes polypeptides that elicit an immuneresponse to an HPV antigen in a patient. An elicited immune response maybe either prophylactic, preventing later infection by the specific viraltype targeted, or may be therapeutic, reducing the severity of disease.An immune response includes a humoral, i.e., antibody, response to thatantigen and/or a cell mediated response to that antigen. Methods tomeasure an immune response are known to those skilled in the art. If oneor both types of immune response are present, they may protect a patientfrom the disease caused, for example, by the agent from which thecomposition was derived. In accordance with the present invention, theability of an composition to protect from disease refers to the abilityof a capsomere or chimeric protein of the present invention to treat,ameliorate and/or prevent disease caused by the disease causing agent orcross reactive agent, preferably by eliciting an immune response againstan antigen derived from the disease causing agent and contained within aprotein or capsomere of the present invention. It is to be noted that apatient may be protected by a composition of the present invention evenwithout the detection of a humoral or cell-mediated response to thecomposition. Protection can be measured by methods known to thoseskilled in the art.

As more than one HPV type may be associated with HPV infections, thevaccines may comprise stable HPV capsid proteins derived from more thanone type of HPV. For example, as HPV 16 and 18 are associated withcervical carcinomas, therefore a vaccine for cervical neoplasia maycomprise VLPs of HPV 16; of HPV 18; or both HPV 16 and 18. In fact, avariety of neoplasia are known to be associated with PV infections. Forexample, HPVs 3a and 10 have been associated with flat warts. A numberof HPV types have been reported to be associated with epidermodysplasiaverruciformis (EV) including HPVs 3a, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 12. HPVs 1, 2, 4,and 7 have been reported to be associated with cutaneous warts and HPVs6b, 11a, 13, and 16 are associated with lesions of the mucus membranes(see, e.g., Kremsdorf, et al., J Virol., 52:1013-1018 (1984); Beaudenon,et al., Nature, 321:246-249 (1986); Heilman, et al., J Virol.,36:395-407 (1980); and DeVilliers, et al., J Virol., 40:932-935 (1981)).Thus, the subject vaccine formulations may comprise a mixture of capsidproteins or fragments derived from different BPV types depending uponthe desired protection.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method to elicit animmune response to a chimeric protein or capsomere of the presentinvention in a patient, comprising administering to the patient acomposition of the present invention. The vaccines will be administeredin therapeutically effective amounts. That is, in amounts sufficient toproduce a protective immunological response. Generally, the vaccineswill be administered in dosages ranging from about 0.1 mg protein toabout 20 mg protein, more generally about 0.001 mg to about 1 mgprotein. Single or multiple dosages can be administered.

Administration of the subject capsid protein-containing vaccines may beeffected by any pharmaceutically acceptable means, e.g., parenterally,locally or systemically, including by way of example, oral, intranasal,intravenous, intramuscular, and topical administration. The manner ofadministration is affected by factors including the natural route ofinfection. The dosage administered will depend upon factors includingthe age, health, weight, kind of concurrent treatment, if any, andnature and type of the particular viral, e.g., human, papillomavirus.The vaccine may be employed in dosage form such as capsules, liquidsolutions, suspensions, or elixirs, for oral administration, or sterileliquid formulations such as solutions or suspensions for parenteral orintranasal use.

EXAMPLES

The invention is further illustrated by the following non-limitedexamples. All scientific and technical terms have the meanings asunderstood by one with ordinary skill in the art. The specific exampleswhich follow illustrate the methods in which the chimeric compositionsof the present invention may be prepared and used and are not to beconstrued as limiting the invention in sphere or scope. The methods maybe adapted to variation in order to produce compositions embraced bythis invention but not specifically disclosed. Further, variations ofthe methods to produce the same compositions in somewhat differentfashion will be evident to one skilled in the art.

Example 1 HPV 11 Bacterially Expressed L1 Protein Reacts withConformational Antibodies

See, Li, M., et al., J. Virol., 71:2988-2995 (1997), which is herebyincorporated by reference.

Example 2 Co-Expression and Purification of HPV11 L1 and L2 Proteinsfrom E. Coli

HPV11 L1 and HPV11 glutathione-S-transferase (GST) L2 fusion proteinswere co-expressed in E. coli by the following methods. It is noted thatthe particulars of this cloning and purification process are notessential to the invention and many different methods to generate thesame results will be apparent to those skilled in the art. HPV11 L1protein was expressed from a pET17b vector that confers ampicillinresistance (available from Novagen, Madison Wis.). HPV11L2 (or portionsthereof) was expressed as a GST fusion protein from the vector pXA/BN,which confers chloramphenicol resistance, and also facilitatespurification of L2 by glutathione-sepharose chromatography. L2 and L1expressing vectors are co-transformed into competent E. coli BL21(DE3)(available from Novagen, Madison Wis.) under chloramphenicol andampicillin selection. A single isolated colony of co-transformedbacteria was inoculated into 5 milliliter (mL) 2×YT media supplementedwith ampillicin (100 .mu.g/mL) and chloramphenicol (40 .mu.g/mL) andgrown overnight at 37.degree. C. Fresh medium (5 mL) was inoculated with0.1 mL of this overnight culture and allowed to grow 5 to 6 hours at37.degree. C. This culture was used to inoculate larger scale cultures(one 5 mL starter culture per liter) which were subsequently grown at37.degree. C. to an OD600 of approximately 0.2. Cultures were theninduced with 0.2 millimolar (mM) IPTG (available from Fisher Scientific,Denver) for 5 to 6 hours or cooled to 25.degree. C., induced with 0.2 mMIPTG and grown overnight at 25.degree. C. Cultures were centrifuged toyield cell pellets, which were resuspended in lysis buffer (40 mMTris-Cl pH 8.0, 0.2 M NaCl, 5% glycerol, 1 mM EDTA, 5 mM DTT)supplemented with protease inhibitors (5 .mu.g/mL pepstatin, 2 .mu.g/mlleupeptin and 2 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride). The following stepswere carried out at 4.degree. C. Cells were lysed by the addition of 0.5mg/ml lysozyme and incubated for 20 minutes followed by the addition of0.1% deoxycholate and incubating for an additional 10 minutes. Thelysates were then treated with 10 units/ml DNAse I in the presence of 5mM MgCl2 for 30 minutes. All previously mentioned reagents are availablefrom Fisher Scientific. Lysates were briefly sonicated, then centrifugedat 17,000 G for one hour and the supernatant was passed over a 10 mL bedvolume glutathione sepharose column. (available from Pharmacia). Thecolumns were washed with buffer L (40 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.0, 0.2 M NaCl, 1mM EDTA, 2 mM DTT) until no protein was detectable in the wash(approximately 20 bed volumes). To purify L1+GST-L2 complexes, boundproteins were eluted with 10 mM reduced glutathione in buffer L. Theeluates were concentrated using Centriplus concentrators (Amicon). Tofurther purify L1+L2 complexes from contaminating bacterial proteins,free L2 and L2 degradation products, eluted proteins were subjected tosize exclusion fast pressure chromatography (FPLC) using a HiLoadSuperdex 200 gel filtration column (Pharmacia). FPLC fractionscontaining complexes were pooled and further concentrated as outlinedabove. Protein complexes were analyzed by SDS-PAGE followed by Coomassieblue staining or immunoblotting. For densitometric analysis onCoomassie-stained gels, images were captured using a fluor-S MultiImager(Bio-Rad) with Quantity One software (BioRad) and quantitated usingImageQuant software (Molecular Dynamics). Using this strategy, L1 willbe present upon elution from glutathione-sepharose only if it is boundto GST-L2. If desired, GST can be cleaved from the complex by digestingthe glutathione sepharose with thrombin (available from Sigma, St.Louis).

Using these procedures, up to 5 mg of partially purified L1+L2 complexeswere obtained per liter of bacterial culture.

Example 3 Cloning and Construction of Deletion and Site-Directed Mutantsof HPV 11 L2 Capsid Protein; Identification of an HPV11 L1 BindingDomain Within HPV11 L2

Full length HPV11 L1 DNA. Full length HPV11 DNA sequence was obtained byPCR amplification from plasmid pVL11L1 (obtained by methods outlined inRose, et al., J. Virol, 67:1936-44 (1993)) with the forward primer5′-GCCGCGAAGCTTCATATGTGGCGGCCTAGCGCAG (SEQ ID NO. 5), containing an NdeIrestriction enzyme site at the initiator methionine codon, and thereverse primer, 5′-GGGCCTGGATCCAGATCTCACAACACACACTGACACAC (SEQ ID NO.6). The PCR-amplified fragment was subcloned into a PCR II vector(Invitrogen), using manufacturer's protocols. An NdeI/BstX1 fragmentencompassing the amplified sequences was excised from this intermediatevector, purified and then ligated to similarly-digested pET17B vector(Novagen) to generate pET17b-HPV11 L1.

b. HPV L2 DNA. The pXA/BN-based vectors, used for expressing HPV11GST-L2 fusion proteins and all other GST-L2 fusion protein derivativesdescribed within this example, were engineered from the original pACvector described by Chen, et al., Embo J., 17:3233-40 (1998), toincorporate the multiple cloning site of pGEX-4T-2 (Pharmacia).Originally, full-length HPV11 L2 DNA was obtained by PCR amplificationfrom a PCR II vector (Invitrogen) containing full-length HPV11 L2 DNA(PCR11/L2) with a forward primer 5′-GGGGGATCCATGAAACCTAGGGCACGC (SEQ IDNO. 7), containing a BamHI restriction site at the 5′ terminus and areverse primer, 5′-GGGGCGGCCGCCTAGGCCGCCACATCTG (SEQ ID NO. 8),containing a NotI restriction site at the 3′ terminus. The PCR-amplifiedfragment was subcloned into a PCR II vector and then a BamH1/NotIfragment excised from this intermediate vector was ligated to asimilarly digested pGEX-4T-2. The pGEX-4T-2 vector containing L2 wasused as a source of BamHI/NotI fragment to subclone into pXA/BN togenerate pXA/BN-HPV11 L2. A similar strategy was used to construct theinitial deletion mutants of HPV11 L2 encompassing amino acids 1-156,1-309, 157-309, 157-455, and 313-455. The primer pairs used for PCRamplification of these subsequent deletion mutants are given in Table 1.For subsequent deletion mutants, the HPV11 L2 DNA was amplified frompXA/BN-HPV11 L2 and subcloned into pCR2.1-TOPO vector (Invitrogen),according the manufacturer's instructions. BamHI/NotI fragmentsencompassing the amplified sequences were excised from theseintermediate vectors and subcloned into pXA/BN. This strategy was alsoused to clone sequences corresponding to the carboxy-termini of variouspapillomavirus L2s with the exception of BPV1 L2, which was cloned as aBamHI/XhoI fragment. These full-length L2 sequences were aligned withthe full-length sequence of HPV11 L2 using Vector NTO AlignX software(InforMax) to define candidate amino acids for incorporation into eachconstruct (Table 1). Overlap extension PCR with paired mutagenic primerswas used for the site directed mutagenesis of specific HPV11 L2 aminoacids. The sequence of these mutagenic primers (made by methodsdescribed in Horton, et al., Biotechniques, 8:528-35 (1990) and Yon, J.and M. Fried, Nucleic Acids Res, 17:4895 (1989)) and is given in Table1; the forward and reverse outside primers used to amplify a fragmentcontaining the mutated sequence were 5′-GGGCTGGCAAGCCACGTTTGGTC (SEQ IDNO. 9) and 5′-AATTCCAGATCTATACACTCCGCTATCGC (SEQ ID NO. 10),respectively. Cloning of the amplified sequences into pXA/BN wasperformed as outlined above. The sequence of all DNA subjected to PCRamplification was verified by sequencing.

TABLE 1 Primers used for constructing deletion and site-directed mutantsof HPV11 L2. Plasmid Forward primer^(a) Reverse primerpXA/BN-HPV11L2/1-156 GGGGGATCCATGAAACCT GGGCGGCCGCATTTTGAAA AGGGCACGCCACACTAGTGG (SEQ ID NO. 11) (SEQ ID NO. 12) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/1-309GGGGGATCCATGAAACCT GGGGCGGCGGCTCCACTGC AGGGCACGC GTGTGTACATG (SEQ ID NO.13) (SEQ ID NO. 14) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/157-309 GGGGGATCCCCCCTGTTTGGGGCGGCGGCTCCACTGC ACAGAACCG GTGTGTACATG (SEQ ID NO. 15) (SEQ ID NO.16) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/157-455 GGGGGATCCCCCCTGTTT GGGGCGGCCGCCTAGGCCGACAGAACCG CCACATCTG (SEQ ID NO. 17) (SEQ ID NO. 18)pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455 CAAGGATCCGGTGCCCGC GGGGCGGCCGCCTAGGCCG ATACATTATCCACATCTG (SEQ ID NO. 19) (SEQ ID NO. 20) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-400CAAGGATCCGGTGCCCGC AATTCCGCGGCCGCTATGT ATACATTAT CAGGCCCAGA (SEQ ID NO.21) (SEQ ID NO. 22) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/346-455 AATTCCGGATCCGATATTGGGGCGGCCGCCTAGGCCG TATGCTGAA CCACATCTG (SEQ ID NO. 23) (SEQ ID NO. 24)pXA/BN-HPV11L2/396-455 AATTCCGGATCCTCTGGG GGGGCGGCCGCCTAGGCCG CCTGACATACCACATCTG (SEQ ID NO. 25) (SEQ ID NO. 26) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/346-439AATTCCGGATCCGATATT AATTCCGCGGCCGCTGCAA TATGCTGAA AGTACCATGAGG (SEQ IDNO. 27) (SEQ ID NO. 28) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/396-439 AATTCCGGATCCTCTGGGAATTCCGCGGCCGCTGCAA CCTGACATA AGTACCATGAGG (SEQ ID NO. 29) (SEQ ID NO.30) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455/ CTGTAACTCCTGAAGAAC GGGCCTGTAGGTTCTTCAGAL417418EE CTACAGGCCC GAGTTACAG (SEQ ID NO. 31) (SEQ ID NO. 32)pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455/ CTGTAACTCCTGAATTAC GGGCCTGTAGGTAATTCAG A417ECTACAGGCCC GAGTTACAG (SEQ ID NO. 33) (SEQ ID NO. 34)pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455/ CTGTAACTCCTGCTGAAC GGGCCTGTAGGTTCAGCAG L418EECTACAGGCCC GAGTTACAG (SEQ ID NO. 35) (SEQ ID NO. 36)pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455/ ACACCCTTTAGTGCTGTA CAGGAGTTACAGCACTAAA P413AACTCCTG GGGTGT (SEQ ID NO. 37) (SEQ ID NO. 38) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455/GTCCTGTAACTGCTGCTT GTAGGTAAAGCAGCAGTTA P416A TACCTAC CAGGAC (SEQ ID NO.39) (SEQ ID NO. 40) pXA/BN-HPV11L2/313-455/ ACTCCTGCTTTAGCTACACAGGGCCTGTAGCTAAAGC P419A GGCCCTG AGGAGT (SEQ ID NO. 41) (SEQ ID NO. 42)^(a)Primer sequences are given 5′ to 3′; restriction sites within theprimer are underlined; mutations within the primer are indicated in boldtype.

TABLE 2 Other Papillomavirus L2 Expression Constructs used in thisApplication L2 amino acids NCBI Virus incorporated reference^(a) Forwardprimer^(b) Reverse primer HPV6b 316-459 NC_001355 AATTCCGGATCCGGGAATTCCGCGGCCGC GCCCGCATTCATTATT CTAGGCCGCCACAT TTTA CTG (SEQ ID NO. 43)(SEQ ID NO. 44) HPV16 321-473 NC_001526 AATTCCGGATCCGGT AATTCCGCGGCCGCGCTAAGGTACATTATT CTAGGCAGCCAAAG ATTA AGAC (SEQ ID NO. 45) (SEQ ID NO.46) HPV33 319-467 NC_001526 AATTCCGGATCCGGA AATTCCGCGGCCGCGCTAGAATACATTATT CTAGGCCGCCACAC ATC GGAC (SEQ ID NO. 47) (SEQ ID NO. 48)HPVIa 347-507 NC_001356 AATTCCGGATCCGGG AATTCCGCGGCCGC CCACAAAGCCATTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAATG AC TTTGCG (SEQ ID NO. 49) (SEQ ID NO. 50) HPV5 376-518^(c) NC_001531 AATCCGGATCCGGGT AATTCCGCGGCCGC CGCAAGTCCATTTTTATCACAAATATTTTCTT C (SEQ ID NO. 52) (SEQ ID NO. 51) HPV12 360-518NC_001577 AATTCCGGATCCGGA AATTCCGCGGCCGC TCACAGGTTCATTTTTTCACAAATATTTTCTT ATAG (SEQ ID NO. 54) (SEQ ID NO. 53) COPV1 360-513NC_001619 AATTCCGGATCCGGG AATTCCGCGGCCGC CCACAAAGCCATTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAATG AC TTTGCG (SEQ ID NO. 55) (SEQ ID NO. 56) BPV1 316-469NC_01522 AATTCCGGATCCGGA CTCGAGTTAGGCAT CCACAGCTACATGTCA GTTTCCGTTTTTTTCGG GTTTC (SEQ ID NO. 57) (SEQ ID NO. 58) ^(a)Sequences are the same asthose given in the NCBI reference with the exception of the HPV5isolate. The relevant amino acid changes within the putative L1-bindingdomain of HPV5 are indicated on FIG. 5. ^(b)Primer sequences are given5′ to 3′; restriction sites within the primer are underlined . . . sup.^(c)Although primers were designed such that HPV5 amino acids 360through 518 would be incorporated, only amino acids 376 through 518 arepresent due to the presence of a cryptic BamHI site at 5472 in the HPV5isolate used for PCR amplification.

Example 4 Description of the L1 Binding Domain on HPV11 L2

The deletion mutants of HPV11 L2 described in Example 3 wereco-expressed with HPV 11 L1 as described in Example 2. Similar levels ofL1 were detected in whole cell lysates prepared from each co-expressionprior to purification of L1+L2 complexes by SDS-PAGE followed byCoomassie Blue staining. The ability of each L2 protein to bind HPV11 L1was determined by the presence or absence of L1 in the eluate from theglutathione sepharose column as measured by SDS-PAGE. The results of theco-expression assays indicate that an HPV11 L1 binding domain iscontained within amino acids 396 through 439 near the C-terminus of L2.This L1 binding domain is distinct from the nuclear localization signalof HPV11 L2 comprised by amino acids 440 through 445.

TABLE 3 L2 amino acids Complex with L1  1-455 Yes  1-158 No  1-309 No157-309 No 157-455 Yes 313-455 Yes 313-400 No 348-455 Yes 396-455 Yes348-439 Yes 396-439 Yes

GST-HPV11 L2 fusion proteins used to define the HPV11 L1-binding domainof HPV11 L2. L2 amino acids incorporated into each fusion protein toform a complex with L1 in bacteria are indicated. The results from thisexperiment show that the HPV11 L1 binding domain is contained withinamino acids 396 through 439 near the carboxy-terminus of L2.

Example 5 Identification of Critical Residues for L1/L2 Binding

In order to help identify specific residues within the 44 amino aciddomain of L2 affecting L1 binding, as described in Example 4, theability of HPV11 L1 to bind L2 proteins from eight differentpapillomavirus serotypes/species was determined. The carboxy terminalthird of each L2 was utilized in coexpression assays as described inExample 2. Table 4 summarizes the results of this experiment. HPV11 L1formed heterologous complexes with L2 proteins from other genitalisolates (HPVs 6b, 16, and 33), from skin isolates (HPVs 5 and 12) andfrom a non-human isolate, COPV1. HPV11 L1 was unable to form a complexwith either HPV1a or BPV1 L2 despite robust production of the L2 fusionprotein in both cases. The stoichiometry between L1 and full-lengthGST-L2 fusion protein of the partially purified extracts of theheterologous complexes formed with the genital isolates was greater than1:1 as was the case for the homologous complex. This stoichiometry wasnot found in partially purified extracts of heterologous complexesformed with the skin isolates or with COPV1. Instead, the L1:L2stoichiometry is that the binding was weaker in the case of complexesformed between HPV11 L1 and L2 proteins from HPV 5 and 12 and COPV1,thus more unassociated L2 was detectable. Accordingly, binding of L1 bygenital isolates was classified as strong, by the skin isolates andCOPV1 as weak, and of HPV1a and BPV1 as undetectable.

TABLE 4 HPV11L1 interactions with L2 proteins from other papillomavirusLocation of infection Interaction with Virus Host (risk)^(a)Supergroup^(b) L1:L2^(c) HPV11 L1^(d) HPV11 Human Genital A10 >1:1Strong tract (low) HPV86 Human Genital A10 >1:1 Strong tract low) HPV16Human Genital A9 >1:1 Strong tract (high) HPV33 Human Genital A9 >1:1Strong tract (moderate) HPV10 Human Skin E1 ND Undetectable HPV5 HumanSkin B1 <1:1 Weak HPV12 Human Skin B1 <1:1 Weak COPV1 Dog Oral E <1:1Weak BPV1 Cow Skin C1 ND Undetectable ^(a)Risk of genital tract isolatesfor progression to cervical carcinoma. ^(b)Supergroup designation isthat defined in Human Papillomaviruses 1997 (1) based on a phylogenetictree computed from a consensus primer region of L1. ^(c)Relative amountsof L1 to full-length GST = L2 fusion protein were determined bydensitometric analysis of Coomassie blue-stained SDS PA gels.^(d)Strength of interaction with L1 is based on the ability to detect L1by immunoblot analysis as well as the relative amounts of L1 and L2. ND= not determined.

Example 6 Importance of Hydrophobic Residues 414-418

Inspection of the alignment in FIG. 5 does not reveal an obvious primaryamino acid sequence unique to those L2 proteins that are capable ofbinding HPV11 L1. Instead, it was noted that the sequence segmentbounded by conserved proline residues at 413 and 419 of HPV11 L2 ispredominately hydrophobic without negatively charged residues in thoseL2 proteins classified as strong HPV11 L1 binders. In the case of weakbinders, at least one negatively charged amino acid is present and inthe case of both HPV1a and BPV1, where binding was undetectable, twonegatively charged amino acids are present. Based on these observations,the inventors, without being bound by theory, speculate that disruptionof this hydrophobic tract would disrupt HPV11 L1 binding. To test thishypothesis, alanine 417 and leucine 418 of HPV1 .mu.L2 were both changedto glutamines (AL417-418EE) and the ability of this mutant L2 protein tobind L1 was examined in co-expression assays, as described in Example 2.The double mutant L2 protein AL417-418EE was weakened in its ability tobind L1 with an L1:L2 of 1:3 as compared to 2:1 for the wild-type L2protein. The A417E mutant displayed a slight disruption of L1 binding(L1:L2 was 1:1) while the L418E mutant L2 protein displayed nodisruption in HPV11 L1 binding. These results support the importance ofthe hydrophobic tract between pralines 413 and 419 in HPV11 L1/L2binding. Specifically, the introduction of two negatively chargedresidues at position 417 and 418 decreased L1/L2 binding.

Example 7 Importance of Conserved Proline Residues 413, 416 and 419 onL1/L2 Binding

Another feature of the sequence between residues 413 and 419 is thepresence of three proline residues. All other L2 proteins examined instudies also contain three prolines in this region with the exception ofBPV1 L2, which contains two prolines. To test the importance of prolines413, 416, and 419 of HPV11 L2 in L1 binding each of these prolines waschanged individually to alanine (P413A, P416A, and P419A) and theability of these mutant L2 proteins to bind L1 was examined incoexpression assays as described in Example 2 and 8. Surprisingly, inall three cases substituting an alanine for a proline did not change theratio of L1:L2 indicating that these mutations did not disrupt L1binding.

Example 8 Biochemical Characterization of L1/L2 Binding as Hydrophobic

Inspection of the carboxy-terminal L1 binding domain of HPV11 L2 fromFIG. 1 revealed a high percentage of hydrophobic residues (>50%). Theresults from Examples 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 suggested that hydrophobicinteractions are important in L1+L2 complex formation. To test theimportance of hydrophobic interactions, the ability of salt, weakdetergents and urea to disrupt the complex was analyzed. A complex ofHPV11 L1 bound to HPV GST=L2(313455) was immobilized on glutathionesepharose beads and incubated with a series of buffers. The amount of L1in each sample was determined by densitometric scanning ofCoomassie-stained gels relative to samples treated with buffer L(described in Example 2) alone, representing the background level of L1liberated from the complex (baseline) and samples treated with SDS-PAGEloading buffer, representing all bound proteins (100%). The relativeamount of L1 released by each buffer treatment is averaged from threeindependent experiments. A complex of HPV11 L1 bound to HPV11 GST-L2(313-455) was immobilized on glutathione sepharose beads. Equalfractions of these beads were subjected to the following buffertreatments: 1 or 2 M NaCl, weak detergents (1% NP-40, 1% NP-40+0.1%DOC), and urea (1 M, 1.5 M, 2 M, 2.5 M) for one hour at roomtemperature. Treated beads were then pelleted by centrifugation andsamples of the supernatants were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblot forthe presence of L1. Densitometric analysis on Coomassie stained gels wasperformed as previously described. It was found that the abovetreatments did not release significant amounts (<20%) of L1 from thecomplex. Even treatment with 5 M urea failed to completely disrupt theL1+L2 complex. Taken together, these results indicate that the L1/L2binding is strong and likely mediated by hydrophobic interactions.

Example 9 In Vitro Assembly into VLPs of L1+L2 Capsomeres at PhysiologicpH

The ability to purify L1 pentamers bound to L2 permitted study of thespecific effects of the L2 capsid protein on the in vitro assembly ofVLPs (virus-like particles, or capsids, from capsomeres of L1+L2). Thein vitro assembly properties of HPV11 L1 alone in comparison to HPV11L1+L2 complex was compared. A L1+GST=L2(313-455) complex was treatedwith thrombin to remove the GST moiety and the resulting L1+L2(313455)complex was dialyzed into assembly buffer at pH 5.2 or 6.8 alongsidepurified L1. The recipe for assembly buffer is as follows: 40 mM HEPES,pH 6.8, 0.5 M NaCl or 40 mM Na citrate, pH 5.2, 0.5 M NaCl. Samples weretreated at room temperature for one hour, then samples were absorbedonto glow-discharged formvar/carbon-coated 400 mesh copper grids andstained with 2% uranyl acetate. Specimens were analyzed by transmissionelectron microscopy using a CM10 electron microscope (PhillipsElectronic Instruments, Inc.) operating at 80 kV. Previously, acidic pHwas demonstrated to yield the most consistent in vitro assembly resultsin the case of both HPV11 L1 and HPV16 L1. At pH 5.2, both L1 andL1+L2(313-455) assembled into T=1 VLPs. At pH 6.8, L1 alone was unableto assemble into VLPs and free pentamers or aggregated clumps ofpentamers were predominately observed. By contrast, L1+L2(313-455)assembled into T=1 VLPs at pH 6.8. These results indicate that L2facilitates capsid assembly at a more physiological pH.

Example 10 Stoichiometry of the HPV11 L1/L2 Associated Complex

Densitometric analysis of partially purified bacterial eluates yielded aL1:L2 ratio of approximately 2:1. However, initial eluates containdegradation and/or premature termination produces that originate fromthe L2 fusion protein as determined by anti-GST immunoblot analysis, aswell as contaminating bacterial chaperone proteins GroEL and DnaK. Toremove unbound GST-L2 and chaperones, glutathione sepharose eluates ofHPV11 L1 bound to HPV11 GST-L2(313-455) were subjected to size exclusionchromatography as described in Example 2. The L1:L2 ratio in theresulting purified complexes was approximately 5:1. Thus, a singlemolecule of L2 associates with a pentamer of L1, a ratio analogous tothat observed in polyomavirus VP1/VP2 interactions.

Example 11 Prophetic Example of Substituting an Oncogenic Protein intothe Non-L1 Binding Domain of L2

In order to develop a therapeutic vaccine for treating establishedcervical carcinoma, the L1 binding protein can be fused to the desiredimmunotherapeutic protein, notably E7, thereby allowing itsincorporation into a VLP. This approach offers certain advantages overstrategies that utilize full-length L2 to incorporate the desiredforeign sequence in vivo. As only a portion of L2 need be used (as smallas 44 amino acids), longer foreign sequences can be introduced. Also, asevery pentamer would have foreign sequence attached, it may be possibleto incorporate 72 copies of the foreign sequence into a VLP. Thesefeatures, coupled with the cost-effectiveness of a bacterial system,make this an appealing technology for chimeric VLP production.

Example 12 Preparation of HPV 16 L1/E7 Capsomeres

Chimeric capsomeric constructs comprised of L1 alone would preferablyinclude additional non-L1 sequences at the carboxy terminus of L1. GSTwould be positioned at the amino terminus. The completed construct wouldthen be GST-L1-X from amino to carboxy terminus. In the case ofGST-L1-E7, spacer amino acids (greater than 1) are added at the carboxyterminus of L1 (which may be deleted for up to 29 amino acids) and 60-70residues of E7 are fused in frame with L1. The completed construct isthen recombinantly expressed in bacteria. GST-pentamers of L1 are thenpurified as described with the fused E7 appended. These pentamers, withor without GST, can then be used for immunization.

Example 13 Immunization with Capsomeres Induces L1-Specific CTLs andAntibodies

To test for L1-specific activity in vivo, a tumor rejection experimentwas performed using C3 cells, which were established by transformationwith the complete HPV16 genome. A total of 5.times.10.sup.5 cells peranimal were inoculated into mice (n=10) (FIG. 7). When the tumors hadreached a mean size of 15.+−0.3 mm.sup.2 at day 14, 10 mice wereinjected with 10 .mu.g of HPV16 L1 capsomeres and 10 mice with PBS.Tumor size (measured with a ruler) was determined 1 week afterimmunization and mice (with strong tumor growth) and of mice showingpartial or total regression were removed, and splenocytes were cultured.CTL activity was analyzed by ELISPOT. Tumor size of the mice within agroup were calculated as arithmetic means with standard error of themeans (SEMs).

The foregoing description is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. The words “comprise,” “comprising,”“include,” “including,” and “includes” when used in this specificationand in the following claims are intended to specify the presence of oneor more stated features, integers, components, or steps, but they do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, components, steps, or groups thereof. Furthermore, since anumber of modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and process shown described above. Accordingly, allsuitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling withinthe scope of the invention as defined by the claims which follow.

1. A complex comprising: a) a first polypeptide comprising apapillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptide or peptide fragment thereof; b) thefirst polypeptide further comprising papillomavirus capsid proteinL1-interaction sequence(s) comprising a first motif of Pro-Xaa₍₄₎ toXaa₍₁₀₎-Pro followed by a second motif of Phe-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro orTyr-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro; and c) a second polypeptide comprising fivepapillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptide or five truncated papillomaviruscapsid L1 that form a capsomere non-covalently bound to the firstpolypeptide the two polypeptides form a complex.
 2. The complex of claim1, wherein the papillomavirus capsid protein L1-interacting sequence isa papillomavirus capsid protein L2 motif selected from the groupconsisting of HPV6, HPV6a, HPV6b, HPV11, HPV16, HPV18, HPV30, HPV31,HPV33, HPV35, HPV39, HPV42, HPV43, HPV44, HPV45, HPV51, HPV52, HPV54,HPV55, HPV56, and HPV70 capsid protein L2 polypeptides.
 3. The complexof claim 2, wherein the papillomavirus capsid protein L2 motif isselected from the group consisting of HPV6b, HPV11, HPV16, and HPV33papillomavirus capsid protein L2 polypeptides.
 4. The complex of claim2, wherein the papillomavirus capsid protein L2 motif is an HPV11papillomavirus capsid protein L2 polypeptide.
 5. The complex of claim 1,wherein the papillomavirus capsid protein L1-interacting sequencecomprises an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:1 comprising[HPV11] identified at amino acid sequence positions 1-455, amino acidsequence positions 157-455, amino acid sequence positions 313-455, aminoacid sequence positions 346-455, amino acid sequence positions 346-439,amino acid sequence positions 396-455 and amino acid sequence positions413-419; SEQ ID NO:50 comprising [HPV5] identified at amino acidsequence positions 376-518 and amino acid sequence positions 466-508;amino acid sequences comprising SEQ ID NO:2, [HPV 6B] identified atamino acid sequence positions 413-419, and amino acid sequence positions400-443; SEQ ID NO:54 comprising [HPV12] identified at amino acidsequence positions 360-518 and amino acid sequence positions 466-508;amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:3, [HPV 16] identified at aminoacid sequence positions 417-423, and amino acid sequence positions412-455; amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:4, [HPV 33] identifiedat amino acid sequence positions 423-429, and amino acid sequencepositions 406-449; and substantially identical homologs thereof.
 6. Thecomplex of claim 1, wherein the complex is expressed in a bacterialexpression system.
 7. The complex of claim 1, further comprising apeptide having at least one immunogenic epitope.
 8. The complex of claim7, wherein one or more of the first polypeptide or the secondpolypeptide is fused at its amino- or carboxy-terminus to the peptidehaving at least one immunogenic epitope to form a chimeric polypeptidewith one or more of the first polypeptide or the second polypeptide. 9.The complex of claim 8, wherein the chimeric polypeptide furthercomprises glutathione-S-transferase protein, and wherein the chimericpolypeptide is fused at its amino- or carboxy-terminus to theglutathione-S-transferase protein.
 10. The complex of claim 8, whereinthe peptide having at least one immunogenic epitope is a viral oncogenicprotein.
 11. The complex of claim 8, wherein the peptide having at leastone immunogenic epitope is papillomavirus E7 protein.
 12. The complex ofclaim 8, further comprising a linker for linking the chimericpolypeptide.
 13. The complex of claim 1, wherein the L2 polypeptides are100 amino acids in length or less.
 14. The complex of claim 1, whereinthe L2 polypeptide comprises a site-directed mutation.
 15. The complexof claim 1, wherein the L2 polypeptide complex comprises one or morepeptides selected from Table
 2. 16. The complex of claim 1, wherein theXaa of the second motif is Tyr, Val, Thr or Glu.
 17. A therapeuticvaccine for eliciting an immune response to papillomavirus infectioncomprising, a therapeutically effective amount of a complex comprising:a) a first polypeptide comprising a papillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptideor peptide fragment thereof; b) the first polypeptide further comprisingpapillomavirus capsid protein L1-interaction sequences(s) comprising afirst motif of Pro-Xaa₍₄₎ to Xaa₍₁₀₎-Pro followed by a second motif ofPhe-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro or Tyr-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro; and c) a second polypeptidecomprising five papillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptide or five truncatedpapillomavirus capsid L1 that form a capsomere non-covalently bound tothe first polypeptide the two polypeptides form a complex.
 18. Thetherapeutic treatment of claim 17, wherein one or more of the firstpolypeptide and second polypeptide is fused at its amino- orcarboxy-terminus to a peptide having at least one immunogenic epitope toform a chimeric protein.
 19. The complex of claim 17, further comprisinga peptide having at least one immunogenic epitope.
 20. A complexcomprising: a) a first polypeptide comprising a papillomavirus L2 capsidpolypeptide or peptide fragment thereof; b) the first polypeptidefurther comprising papillomavirus capsid protein L1-interactionsequences(s) comprising a first motif of Pro-Xaa₍₄₎ to Xaa₍₁₀₎-Profollowed by a second motif of Phe-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro orTyr-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro; c) wherein the L1 interaction sequence is an aminoacid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:1 comprising [HPV11] identified atamino acid sequence positions 1-455 and d) further comprising a secondpolypeptide comprising five papillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptide or fivetruncated papillomavirus capsid L1 that form a capsomere non-covalentlybound to the first polypeptide the two polypeptides form a complex. 21.A method to elicit an immune response to papillomavirus in a subject,the method comprising administering to the subject a complex comprising:a) a first polypeptide comprising a papillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptideor peptide fragment thereof; b) the first polypeptide further comprisingpapillomavirus capsid protein L1-interaction sequences(s) comprising afirst motif of Pro-Xaa₍₄₎ to Xaa₍₁₀₎-Pro followed by a second motif ofPhe-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro or Tyr-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro; and c) a second polypeptidecomprising five papillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptide or five truncatedpapillomavirus capsid L1 that form a capsomere non-covalently bound tothe first polypeptide the two polypeptides form a complex.
 22. Thecomplex of claim 21, further comprising a peptide having at least oneimmunogenic epitope.
 23. A prophylactic treatment for eliciting animmune response to papillomavirus in a subject comprising, administeringto the subject a prophylactically effective amount of a complexcomprising: a) a first polypeptide comprising a papillomavirus L2 capsidpolypeptide or peptide fragment thereof; b) the first polypeptidefurther comprising papillomavirus capsid protein L1-interactionsequences(s) comprising a first motif of Pro-Xaa₍₄₎ to Xaa₍₁₀₎-Profollowed by a second motif of Phe-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro orTyr-Xaa-Leu-His-Pro; and c) a second polypeptide comprising fivepapillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptide or five truncated papillomaviruscapsid L1 that form a capsomere non-covalently bound to the firstpolypeptide the two polypeptides form a complex.
 24. The prophylactictreatment of claim 23, wherein one or more of the first polypeptide andsecond polypeptide is fused at its amino- or carboxy-terminus to apeptide having at least one immunogenic epitope to form a chimericprotein.
 25. The complex of claim 23, further comprising a peptidehaving at least one immunogenic epitope.
 26. A method of inducing animmune response against a polypeptide in a subject comprising: a)providing a chimeric first polypeptide composition comprising apolypeptide having at least one immunogenic epitope fused to apapillomavirus L2 capsid polypeptide or peptide fragment thereof; b) asecond polypeptide comprising five papillomavirus L1 capsid polypeptideor five truncated papillomavirus capsid L1 that form a capsomerenon-covalently bound to the first polypeptide the two polypeptides forma complex; and c) administering the polypeptide complex composition tothe subject; wherein the administration is effective to induce an immuneresponse against the polypeptide.
 27. The method of claim 26, whereinthe polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of ras, EGFR,BRAC, Her2/neu, myc, abl, P1A, MAGE-1, MAGE-3, MAGE-6, BAGE, GAGE-1/2,GAGE-8, GAGE-6, RAGE-1, GnTV, mucin, connexin-37, ribosomal protein L9,gag IAP, gp70 env MuLV, p53, DEAD box helicase p68, c-akt, MUM-1, CDK4,beta-catenin, HLA-A2, bcr-abl, CASP-8 and KIAA0205 proteins.
 28. Themethod of claim 27, wherein the polypeptide is selected to have thesequence of a mutant form of the ras, EGFR, BRAC, Her2/neu, myc, abl,P1A, MAGE-1, MAGE-3, MAGE-6, BAGE, GAGE-1/2, GAGE-8, GAGE-6, RAGE-1,GnTV, mucin, connexin-37, ribosomal protein L9, gag IAP, gp70 env MuLV,p53, DEAD box helicase p68, c-akt, MUM-1, CDK4, beta-catenin, HLA-A2,bcr-abl, CASP-8 or KIAA0205 proteins.
 29. The method of claim 26,wherein the polypeptide is from a viral-associated protein or a tumorantigen.